Editor’s Note: This coffee was provided to us as a review sample by the site behind it. In no way, per our editorial policyinfluenced the final outcome of this review.
This coffee-whiskey cocktail is, in my experience, a tough nut to crack. Combining two acquired tastes can be a challenge even for those who, like me, have acquired both. The bitterness of coffee and the sweetness of whiskey have the potential to strike a fine balance when the right beans meet the right juice in the right proportions. But identifying the right balance of mutually supportive flavors is a trial-and-error process that I have admittedly never been able to accomplish.
Florida-based coffee roastery Mr. Pablo offers a sort of shortcut to this process by infusing the beans with Arabica whiskey. According to Don Pablo’s promotional materials, the beans are steeped in bourbon, Irish or Canadian whiskey before a drying and roasting process that preserves the flavors imparted by the alcohol while burning off all but the most stubborn residual alcohol. This process deftly sidesteps the lingering philosophical question posed by coffee cocktails—is it a boost or a depressant?
I tried three whiskey-infused coffees, grinding the beans medium-coarse and brewing them for 3 minutes in a piston brewer. Following the recommendation on Don Pablo’s website (which, for me, was a perfect match for my personal preferences), I drank the coffee black without any additional sweetener, and I’m sharing my experience with the Canadian Whiskey and Maple Infused offerings here in a whiskey review format.
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Tasting Notes: Don Pablo Canadian Whiskey and Maple-Infused Coffee
Appearance: Deep black, of course, but for a more exact measurement you’d need a spectrometer, which I don’t have on hand, the coffee is a bit hefty due to my coffee-making method (French press), and there’s a minuscule bit of oil evident at the top of the cup.
Nose: Subtle toffee aroma with a hint of spice.
Palate: This was fairly unassuming on the nose, but has more personality on the palate. Some milk chocolate, but more of a silent, convoluted maple and honey sweetness with a bit of a “shimmering” alcohol flavor in the background. On my palate, the honey flavor actually makes a bigger impression than the maple, and leads into a fading, earthy, rye, peppery finish.
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Final thoughts: Captivating as a novelty that’s fun for a cup or two, but nothing here that makes me want to stop buying my regular beans. The coffee and whiskey are a decent pairing, with the bitterness of the roast and the sweetness of the malt balancing each other out, and the rye whiskey gives this cup of joe a subdued but noticeable pinch of spice.
